Das Ziel: Konstitutionssystem der Begriffe Das Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchungen ist die Aufstellung eines erkenntnismäßig-logischen Systems der ...

While largely studied because of their harmful effects on human health, there is growing appreciation that bacteria are important partners for invertebrates and vertebrates, including man. Epithelia in metazoans do not only select their microbiota; a coevolved consortium of microbes enables both invertebrates and vertebrates to expand the range of diet supply, to shape the complex immune system and to control pathogenic bacteria. Microbes in zebrafish and mice regulate gut epithelial homeostasis. In a squid, microbes control the development of the (...) symbiotic light organ. These discoveries point to a key role for bacteria in any metazoan existence, and imply that beneficial bacteria‐host interactions should be considered an integral part of development and evolution. (shrink)

This paper explores structuralism as a way to model theories from scientific practice. As a case study I analyzed a theory about the dynamics of the basal ganglia, a part of the brain that is involved in Parkinson's disease. After introducing the case study I explore how to structurally represent qualitative assumptions about disease, intervention and dynamical systems in general. I further explicate the structure of the basal ganglia theory in detail, how it explains Parkinson's disease and how it implies (...) treatments. I close with a consideration of how a structuralist representation could be useful in practice to explore and develop theories with the aid of a computer. (shrink)

'My endeavour in these pages is to explain the main features of the method of philosophizing which we, the Vienna Circle, use, and by using try to develop further. It is the method of the logical analysis of science, or more precisely, of the syntactical analysis of scientific language.... The purpose of the book -- as of the lectures -- is to give a first impression of our method and of the direction of our questions and investigations to those who (...) are not yet acquainted with them.' -- From the Preface. (shrink)

Fiodor Dostoievski rasga el alma humana hasta dejarla herida por el sufrimiento, la culpa y el aislamiento. Y, sin embargo, la derrota no gana la batalla. La escritora sureña estadounidense Carson McCullers escribe sobre la soledad y la miseria del sur de los Estados Unidos con una mirada atenta a los paisajes desolados de la Rusia de Fiodor Dostoievski, no sólo físicos sino esencialmente metafísicos. Esta autora que ya leyó al maestro ruso a los 13 años explora las entrañas humanas (...) desde un terreno rural, desolador, inhóspito y desafortunado, con diferencias raciales, sobreexposición de alcohol y con un concepto de bien moral interno que aparece como una pulsión constante e inagotable. En esta aproximación queremos destacar cómo el misterio del mal, pero también el acto de la voluntad y la incomunicación, son aspectos que unen a ambos autores, especialmente en dos de sus obras maestras, Crimen y Castigo y El corazón es un cazador solitario, respectivamente. (shrink)

Six experiments investigated variables predicted to influence subjects’ tendency to classify items by a single property instead of overall similarity, following the paradigm of Norenzayan et al., who found that European Americans tended to give more “logical” rule-based responses. However, in five experiments with Mechanical Turk subjects and undergraduates at an American university, we found a consistent preference for similarity-based responding. A sixth experiment with Korean undergraduates revealed an effect of instructions, also reported by Norenzayan et al., in which classification (...) instructions led to majority rule-based responding but similarity instructions led to overall similarity grouping. Our American subjects showed no such difference and used similarity more overall. We conclude that Americans do not have a preference for rule responding in classification and discuss the differences between tasks that reliably show strong rule or unidimensional preferences in contrast to this classification paradigm. (shrink)

Available for the first time in 20 years, here are two important works from the 1920s by the best-known representative of the Vienna Circle.

Two chief problems of the theory of knowledge are the question of meaning and the question of verification. The first question asks under what conditions a sentence has meaning, in the sense of cognitive, factual meaning. The second one asks how we get to know something, how we can find out whether a given sentence is true or false. The second question presupposes the first one. Obviously we must understand a sentence, i.e. we must know its meaning, before we can (...) try to find out whether it is true or not. But, from the point of view of empiricism, there is a still closer connection between the two problems. In a certain sense, there is only one answer to the two questions. If we knew what it would be for a given sentence to be found true then we would know what its meaning is. And if for two sentences the conditions under which we would have to take them as true are the same, then they have the same meaning. Thus the meaning of a sentence is in a certain sense identical with the way we determine its truth or falsehood; and a sentence has meaning only if such a determination is possible. (shrink)

Excerpt from Über die Echtheit der Platonischen Briefe Der erste Aufenthalt Platos in Syrakus fällt, wie sich mit Hilfe einer bisher übersehenen Angabe seines Biographen Olympiodor feststellen läfst, in den Frühsommer des Jahres 388. Damals war Plato, der nach dem Zeugnis seines Schülers Hermodor 427 geboren ist, in der Tat beinahe 40 Jahre alt Das anfänglich gute Verhältnis zum älteren Dionys konnte bei der Ver schiedenheit der Charaktere nicht lange bestehen; schon um die Mitte des Sommers 388, zur Zeit der (...) olympischen Spiele, finden wir Plato wieder in Hellas. Nach einer bekannten Erzählung hatte nämlich der Tyrann den smrtanischen Gesandten Pullis veranlafst, ihn auf seinem Schiffe mitzunehmen und in Ägina aus Land zu setzen, damit er dort als Kriegsgefangener fest genommen und auf dem Sklavenmarkt verkauft würde. Es wäre nämlich gerade Krieg zwischen Athen und Ägina gewesen (bis Sein Gastfreund Anniceris von Cyrene sei zufällig hinzu gekommen und habe ihn losgekauft Ausdrücklich bemerkt Olympiodor zu dieser Erzählung, Anniceris sei mit einem Viergespann nach Hellas gekommen, um an den olympischen Spielen Demnach fällt Platos erste sizilische Reise in das Olympiadenjahr 388. Die chronologische Zuverlässigkeit des Briefes tritt am deutlichsten darin hervor, dafs nun seine An gabe, Plato sei damals beinahe 40 Jahre alt gewesen, gerade mit der bestbezeugten Angabe über sein Geburtsjahr übereinstimmt. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

En la obra de Hegel la filosofía de lo bello es eminentemente filosofía del espíritu. Uno de los temas insoslayables acerca de la belleza es su presencia en la naturaleza y en el arte. En las Lecciones de Estética la belleza del arte se pondera como la más excelente. En este punto la postura hegeliana diverge llamativamente de la de Schelling; quien trató explícitamente de la relación de las artes plásticas con la naturaleza, como consta en el texto que lleva (...) este tema por título (generalmente llamado “discurso de la academia”). Su propuesta es clara: la superioridad de la naturaleza frente a las artes plásticas. Lo más interesante de esta disputa no es el desacuerdo en sí mismo, sino las argumentaciones que uno y otro autor alegan a favor de sus tesis respectivas. (cuánto se parece y cuánto divergen) A través de ellas se pueden ver los diversos matices en torno a los conceptos de belleza y de espíritu. A esta cuestión es a lo que se dedicará esta comunicación: a analizar brevemente algunos argumentos de ambos autores acerca de la belleza en la naturaleza y en el arte. A lo largo de este artículo se lleva a cabo una comparación de textos, de algunas discrepancias concretas: en todas ellas lo llamativo es cómo son a la vez tan cercanos y tan contrarios. Tanto para Schelling como para Hegel, la belleza es del espíritu: lo más bello es lo que está penetrado de espíritu y es vivificado por él. Pero más allá de estos principios comunes hay mil matices que acaban desembocando en dos posturas contrapuestas. (shrink)

In der Arbeit wird eine textimmanente Problemstellung der Transzendentalen Dialektik der Kritik der reinen Vernunft aufgegriffen, indem ausgehend vom Grundsatz der Vernunft nach der Möglichkeit eines regulativen Apriori im Rahmen der methodischen Vorgaben der Kritik der reinen Vernunft gefragt wird. Kants regulativer Vernunftgebrauch wird in drei Teilen untersucht: Der erste Teil – Problemfeld – entwickelt ausgehend von der Antinomie der reinen Vernunft immanente Kriterien, durch die das Lehrstück des Anhangs zur Transzendentalen Dialektik dargestellt und geprüft werden kann. Der zweite Teil (...) – Analysen – entwickelt textimmanent die Herleitung der Vernunftbegriffe, das dadurch geleistete Systematische der Erkenntnis und ihre transzendentale Rechtfertigung. Der dritte Teil – Dimension und Reichweite – untersucht auf der Basis der textimmanenten Analyse die konkreten Beispiele, die Kant im Anhang zur Transzendentalen Dialektik anführt, um damit die begrifflich-abstrakten Gedankengänge an Fallbeispielen zu konkretisieren. Der Grundsatz der Vernunft wird dabei in seiner konstitutiven Form zurückgewiesen und in einer regulativen Interpretation als transzendentaler Grundsatz der Vernunft neu begründet. (shrink)

"Die Gedanken, die ich in diesem Buche mitteile, sollen die Grundstimmung festhalten, die ich in der Weltanschauung Goethes beobachtet habe. Im Lauf vieler Jahre habe ich immer wieder und wieder das Bild dieser Weltanschauung betrachtet. Besonderen Reiz hatte es fur mich, nach den Offenbarungen zu sehen, welche die Natur uber ihr Wesen und ihre Gesetze den feinen Sinnes- und Geistesorganen Goethes gemacht hat. Ich lernte begreifen, warum Goethe diese Offenbarungen als so hohes Gluck empfand, dass er sie zuweilen hoher schatzte (...) als seine Dichtungsgabe. Die Eindrucke, welche Goethe von den Erscheinungen der Natur empfangen hat, muss man kennen, wenn man den vollen Gehalt seiner Dichtungen verstehen will. Die Geheimnisse, die er dem Wesen und Werden der Schopfung abgelauscht hat, leben in seinen kunstlerischen Erzeugnissen und werden nur demjenigen offenbar, der hinhorcht auf die Mitteilungen, die der Dichter uber die Natur macht. Niemand kann in die Tiefen der Goetheschen Kunst hinuntertauchen, dem Goethes Naturbeobachtungen unbekannt sind." [...] Rudolf Steiner war ein osterreichischer Esoteriker und Philosoph. Auf Grundlage seiner Lehre entstand unter anderem die Waldorfpadagogik. Der Verlag der Wissenschaften verlegt historische Literatur bekannter und unbekannter wissenschaftlicher Autoren. Dem interessierten Leser werden so teilweise langst nicht mehr verlegte Werke wieder zugangig gemacht. Das vorliegende Buch ist ein unveranderter Nachdruck der historischen Originalausgabe aus dem Jahr 1897.". (shrink)

If one of the most important aims of education on military ethics is to strengthen moral competence, we argue that it is important to base ethics education on virtue ethics, the Socratic attitude and the process of ?living learning?. This article illustrates this position by means of the example of a ?train the trainer? course on military ethics for Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), which is developed at the Netherlands Defence Academy, and uses a number of examples both from its structure and (...) from experiences from its actual use. (shrink)

In a crucial paragraph (KrV, A 663-664 / B 691-692) of the first part of the “Appendix to the Transcendental Dialectic”, Kant discusses the specific status of the principles of homogeneity, specification, and continuity. In doing so, he refers to an already proven argument and thus to other passages of the Critique of Pure Reason. In search of this argument the “Transcendental Analytic” but in particular the “first book” of the “Transcendental Dialectic” turn out to be possible reference points. Although (...) this contextualisation demands further systematic and editorial reflections, it also allows the clarification of the status of the principles and their justification in relation to a subjective deduction. Kant offers with the subjective deduction, as introduced in the “Preface” (of the first edition of the Critique of Pure Reason) and again in the “first book” of the “Transcendental Dialectic”, a first argumentative strategy, which differs from the objective one but provides “some objective validity” (KrV, A 664 / B 692; Kant, 1998, p. 602) and therefore has systematic importance for the principles of homogeneity, specification, and continuity. My aim is to offer immanent strategies for a justification of the principles of homogeneity, specification, and continuity in the framework of the Critique of Pure Reason. (shrink)

Increasing complexity of projects is mentioned as one of the reasons for project failure—still. This paper presents a comparative research to investigate how project complexity was perceived by project practitioners in different industry sectors. Five sectors were included: process industry, construction industry, ICT, high-tech product development, and food processing industry. In total, more than 140 projects were included in the research, hence providing a broad view on Dutch project practice. From the complexity assessments, it is concluded that only one complexity (...) element was present in the top complexity elements of projects across the five sectors: the high project schedule drive. The variety of external stakeholders’ perspectives, a lack of resources and skills availability, and interference with existing site were found in the top lists of three sectors. It was concluded that a framework to grasp project complexity could support the management of complex projects by creating awareness for the complexities. Further research could be focused on the subjective character of complexity as well as on the application of cross-sector learning, since this research does show similarities between large technical projects in different sectors. (shrink)

This article describes how methodologies of EU-funded research within the life sciences and biomedicine have recently become more gender sensitive. This transformation is the result of the Gender Impact Assessments of the EU Fifth Framework Programme, commissioned in 2000-1. The authors assessed the research programme for life sciences, which includes a large health-related component. The new guidelines for research emphasize the need for clear terminology for concepts of sex and gender and for a distinction to be made between the two, (...) for both life sciences and health research. Attention to possible sex differences, even in preclinical research, as well as to effects of gender, will lead to more adequate research data that serve the health of both men and women. The transformation to research becoming more gender-sensitive is further discussed in the context of feminist theory on the body. Being fully aware of the fact that what is happening in bodies is mediated by particular technologies, the authors make an appeal to invest in concepts that take the living and changing body into account. (shrink)

Since its publication fifty years ago, this work has established itself as a classic. It casts the visual process in psychological terms and describes the creative way one's eye organizes visual material according to specific psychological premises. In 1974 this book was revised and expanded, and since then it has continued to burnish Rudolf Arnheim's reputation as a groundbreaking theoretician in the fields of art and psychology.

Peptides serve as important signalling molecules in development and differentiation in the simple metazoan Hydra. A systematic approach (The Hydra Peptide Project) has revealed that Hydra contains several hundreds of peptide signalling molecules, some of which are neuropeptides and others emanate from epithelial cells. These peptides control biological processes as diverse as muscle contraction, neuron differentiation, and the positional value gradient. Signal peptides cause changes in cell behaviour by controlling target genes such as matrix metalloproteases. The abundance of peptides in (...) Hydra raises the question of whether, in early metazoan evolution, cell–cell communication was based mainly on these small molecules rather than on the growth‐factor‐like cytokines that control differentiation and development in higher animals. BioEssays 23:420–427, 2001. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

Although researchers studying human speech recognition (HSR) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) share a common interest in how information processing systems (human or machine) recognize spoken language, there is little communication between the two disciplines. We suggest that this lack of communication follows largely from the fact that research in these related fields has focused on the mechanics of how speech can be recognized. In Marr's (1982) terms, emphasis has been on the algorithmic and implementational levels rather than on the (...) computational level. In this article, we provide a computational-level analysis of the task of speech recognition, which reveals the close parallels between research concerned with HSR and ASR. We illustrate this relation by presenting a new computational model of human spoken-word recognition, built using techniques from the field of ASR that, in contrast to current existing models of HSR, recognizes words from real speech input. (shrink)

Here we evaluate our current understanding of the function of the nervous system in Hydra, a non‐bilaterian animal which is among the first metazoans that contain neurons. We highlight growing evidence that the nervous system, with its rich repertoire of neuropeptides, is involved in controlling resident beneficial microbes. We also review observations that indicate that microbes affect the animal's behavior by directly interfering with neuronal receptors. These findings provide new insight into the original role of the nervous system, and suggest (...) that it emerged to orchestrate multiple functions including host‐microbiome interactions. The excitement of future research in the Hydra model now relies on uncovering the common rules and principles that govern the interaction between neurons and microbes and the extent to which such laws might apply to other and more complex organisms. (shrink)